Usually cinnamon is used on Snickerdoodle cookies, but this time of year why not use Pumpkin Spice! Delicious with a milky cup of tea.

In my opinion cream of tartar is an essential ingredient in Snickerdoodle cookies, it gives these cookies their signature tanginess and chew.

Since the one I buy comes in a little box, I always move it into a jar for storage.

What is cream of tartar powder? It is a byproduct of winemaking. Other names for it are potassium bitartrate or potassium hydrogen tartrate. It is a powdered form of tartaric acide and is used in baking and cooking. Cream of tartar helps stabilize whipped egg whites and whipped cream. For egg whites you'd usually add 1/8 teaspoon per egg white. Cream of tartar helps prevent the creation of sugar crystals and therefore is used in some candy making. For baking it acts like a leavening agent, and a little added to the water used to boil your veggies will help them maintain their bright colours.

I did an internet search and there are many other uses for cream of tartar besides baking. I haven't tried any yet, but looks like it is good for keeping ants away, mixed with other ingredients such as vinegar and lemon it is a good cleaner or polisher. Here is a link to the Farmer's Almanac on different ways to use cream of tartar: https://www.farmersalmanac.com/cream-of-tartar-uses-27268. Have you tried any of them?

After the cookie dough is well mixed, it is important to wrap it and chill in the fridge. If you don't this it will be difficult to roll into balls and the cookies will spread even more than they usually do when baked. I like to have mine in the fridge for at least 20 to 30 minutes, or ideally overnight.

You can also make the cookie dough ahead of time. Roll the cookie dough into logs and wrap and freeze to use later.

After the cookie dough has firmed up in the fridge, remove and roll into balls. If you are concerned about cookie spread when baking you can put the balls in the fridge again for about 15 minutes. If you froze the dough, just remove from the freezer and slice into the size you want and roll into balls.

While the cookie dough balls are cooling in the fridge you can mix up your sugar and spice mixture in a small bowl. You can add more spice mix to your taste. Then take the cookie balls out of the fridge and roll in the sugar mixture. I do all of the cookie balls once and then repeat, but this is optional.

You don't have to flatten the cookies. I like my cookies thin so I flatten them slightly with the back of a glass. I put the cookies on slightly greased parchment paper. I usually have to pieces of parchment paper. One on the baking tray in the oven and a second one waiting to be put on the tray when the first set of cookies is down. I then keep moving between the two sets of parchment paper. This way I can have a second set of cookies ready to go and only use one baking tray.

Here is what they look like after baking. I lift the whole parchment paper off the baking sheet and let cool on my counter. I then place the second parchment paper of cookies on the tray and put in the oven.

The cookies will be soft when first removed from the oven, so it is a good idea to let them cool about 5 minutes before moving from the parchment paper to cooling racks. This way the cookies will not break.

Gluten-Free Snickerdoodle Cookies with Pumpkin Spice

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 3/4 cups gluten-free flour of your choice
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Ingredients for Topping

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 - 2 teaspoons pumpkin spice

Directions

1. Prep your baking sheets. I like to use parchment paper.
2. In a mixer or large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Mix for about 3 minutes. You want the sugar coated in butter and the mixture to be creamy but still thick.
3. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
4. In a second bowl mix the gluten-free flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt, then add to the buttery mixture and mix until well blended.
5. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and put in the fridge and let chill for about 15 to 20 minutes. This makes it easier to handle.
6. Preheat oven to 400 Farenheit.
7. After the dough has chilled, roll into small balls.
8. Mix the sugar and pumpkin spice in a small bowl. Dip the dough balls and cover with the sugar mixture. I do this step twice as I like alot of sugar on the cookies.
9. Put the balls on your baking sheets at about 2 inches apart. If you like flat cookies press them down slightly with the bottom of a glass.
10. Bake in the oven for about 8 minutes, or until golden brown.
11. Let cool on the baking sheet for about 2 minutes before moving to a cooling rack. The cookies will be too soft to move right away.

Making snickerdoodles are a great way to enjoy pumpkin spice this time of year.

Note: These are my personal experiences and opinions. Always seek out a medical opinion for medical concerns.